| By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
February 12, 2006
12:07 PM EST (17:07 GMT)
Nicknamed the Beehive State because it symbolizes the pioneer virtues of thrift and perserverance, Utah is a land overflowing with natural beauty. From the Great Salt Lake to the ski resorts of the Wasatch Range and the national parks of Arches, Bryce Canyon and Zion, there's little reason to stay inside. Despite being the fourth-fastest growing state in the country, there are vast uninhabited areas -- mainly because four-fifths of the population is concentrated in an area around Salt Lake City.  | 
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Salt Lake City also was the finish point for the transcontinental telegraph, while the transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit. Ogden's John Browning designed the Colt .45, while Beaver's Philo Farnsworth invented the electronic television. Other famous Utahns include outlaw Butch Cassidy, hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, actress Roseanne Barr and athlete-actor Merlin Olsen. Plus, the Osmonds got a little bit country in Ogden -- or was that a little bit rock 'n' roll? NASCAR's most interesting connection to the state came in 1971, when southerners sought speed records on the salt flats. Best behind the wheel Our research failed to uncover any Utah-based drivers who made an appearance in NASCAR's premier series. However, one of NASCAR's top cars of the era made an appearance in Utah -- the Bonneville Salt Flats, to be specific. In 1970, newly crowned Grand National champion Bobby Isaac drove Nord Krauskopf's high-winged Dodge Charger Daytona to a closed-course speed record of 201.104 mph at Talladega. However, the feat received little attention, because Chrysler Engineering was concentrating its efforts on the Charger and Road Runner for the 1971 season. Despite winning the championship, Krauskopf's team was passed over when Chrysler went with two factory-backed cars in 1971: a Plymouth for Richard Petty and a Dodge for Buddy Baker. That left Krauskopf the option of entering his car in races with larger purses, rather than running the entire schedule. With a break between Darlington and Martinsville, Krauskopf hit upon the idea of taking the car to Utah in an effort to generate more records. Crew chief Harry Hyde set up plans to use the course during the week of Sept. 12 -- when the salt surface should have been at its best -- and towed the car that set the record at Talladega out to the flats, along with several spare engines and superspeedway tires. Chrysler engineer George Wallace was invited to tag along, and he shared his memories of the effort in an article posted on the aerowarriors.com Web site. On Monday, the 13th, Isaac got in the Daytona for his first crack at the "flying mile." "Bobby took the car to the end of the available straightaway and headed north," Wallace recalled. "We were all standing at least one-quarter-mile away from the straightaway. We heard the car before we saw it. It sounded great, but it didn't look very fast with nothing to judge it against. "After Bobby stopped the crew went down to check over the car. I don't think that they even changed tires. FIA rules required that the return run be made in less than 60 minutes after the first run. Bobby came back much sooner than that." Official timer Joe Petrali had the word: 216.946 mph for the flying mile and 217.368 for the flying kilometer, both world records for a stock car. Wallace said the salt conditions in 1971 were far from perfect. "In 1971, we had about a 12-mile straight," he recalled. "For the Dodge Daytona, this was quite adequate. It could probably not have gone much over 225 mph on a much longer straightaway." Hyde and his crew then prepared the car for an assault on the 100-mile standing start record. A 10-mile oval track was laid out, using wood strips drilled into the salt. A grader also was used to smooth out small ripples on the surface. Later that afternoon, Hyde took the car out for a test run -- with Wallace as a passenger. "I went along, holding onto the roll cage," Wallace said. "Harry got the car up to about 210 mph, from the tach reading. This I think is the fastest I have ever ridden in a race car, but it didn't even seem like it was moving fast. I didn't even have to hold on tight." | | ARCHIVE | |
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Preparations were made for Isaac to attempt a record run the next morning, although the driver wasn't comfortable with the idea of running flat-out in the corners. "Harry and I pointed out to him that this was the safest place in the world to spin out, since he could spin for several miles and not hit anything," Wallace said. "The coefficient of friction of the salt was so low that the tires couldn't get enough of a bite while spinning to trip the car and turn it over." Wallace then jumped in the car again, this time with Isaac in the driver's seat. "I rode with Bobby while we were setting up the car a little, and he was probably the ideal driver because he was a dirt tracker who wasn't afraid to go fast," Wallace said. "He was basically driving it like a huge dirt track. "He'd get up to about 205 or 206 mph at the end of the straightaway and he'd never lift. He'd throw it into the turn and from the inside it felt like it was going out about 30 percent. The tail end would hang out, but he would drive it just like you would on a dirt track. At first I was a little anxious about it, because we had to point out to him that if you lose the car you could spin for five miles." | | VICKERS' MAILBAG | Brian Vickers will answer fans' questions each week on NASCAR.COM.
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Isaac turned practice laps at 194 mph, good enough to get the record. However, the abrasive salt was tearing the tread off the edges of the tires. Wallace returned to a phone booth near his Wendover motel to confer with Goodyear engineers in Akron, Ohio -- and decided changing tire pressure and camber would do the trick. On Wednesday morning, Isaac was ready. After the first attempt was too slow -- because it took the Daytona nearly an entire lap to reach maximum speed -- the car was refueled and sent out again. This time, Isaac averaged 194.290 mph for 100 miles and 193.168 mph for 100 kilometers, records which stood for nearly eight years. The team also added 10-mile and 10-kilometer standing start records before Hyde packed up the Daytona for the trip home. Issac went on to win the race at Martinsville, his next-to-last Cup victory. We wish ... Receiver Mac Speedie had become a NASCAR driver. The Salt Lake City native set an All-American Football Conference record with 211 catches in a four-year period, then led the NFL with 62 receptions with the Cleveland Browns in 1952. Plus, his name just screams NASCAR. Keeping it on track • Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley City This three-eigths-mile paved oval with slightly banked corners is host to the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series -- and has been the site of West Series and Southwest Tour races in the past. In fact, Brendan Gaughan holds the track record for West cars, with a lap of 15.296 seconds in 2000. Nick Parker finished third in the Division I points, based on five victories in 17 top-10 finishes in 2005. A word from our sponsor • Autoliv, Ogden A worldwide leader in automotive safety, a pioneer in both seat belts and airbags, and a technology leader with the widest product offering for automotive safety, Autoliv has joint ventures in 30 countries, testing cars and products at 20 crash-test tracks in nine countries, with 40,000 employees. | 
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